Friday, July 14, 1944

The Jews and Medicine

Dr. Friedenwald liVrites
Important 2-Volume History

Eminent Ophthalmologist and Outstanding Zionist Makes
Great Contribution to Medical History With
. His Encyclopedic Work

THE JEWISH NEWS

Margit C. Kormendy
Soloist in Center
Concert on Monday

Margit C. Kormendy, popular
Detroit contralto, so lo is t at
Temple. Beth El and one of the

Dr. Harry Friedenwald, of Baltimore, scion of one of
America's most distinguished Jewish families, eminent
ophthalmologist, one • of the country's outstanding Zionist
leaders, has • chosen 1944—the year of his 80th birthday—to
make another great contribution to American Jewry.
This time, it is in the form of an encyclopedic work—

"The Jews and Medicine"—pub-
lished, in two volumes .(817 pages others in his, period forms a Valu-
4;7.50), . by the Johns Hopkins able portion of the books.
Press of Baltimore.
* * *
An All-Embracing Work
Medieval Medicine
It is a. magnificent and an all-
For Hebraists, the chapters on
embracing work. It is history "Hebrew Language in Medical
and literature, and 'there is hard- Literature" and "Note on the Im-
ly an angle in the field of Jews portance of the Hebrew Lan-
in medicine - that remains un- guage in Medieval Medicine" are
touched in this book.
of great importance. The author
'A practicing physician since points out that a large part of
1886, Dr. Friedenwald follOwed medieval medicine was written
in the footsteps of his father, Dr. in Hebrew and many terms there-
Aaron Friedenwald, a professor fore derive from the Hebrew.
of .ophthalmology in the Univer-
In recent years, the Hebrew.-:
sity of Maryland. In his brief speaking doctors in this country
foreword to the book, and again have derived encouragement in
in the preface written by Prof. the advancement of Hebrew
Henry E. Sigerist of the Johns medical terms from . the Pales-
Hopkins Institute of the History tinian developments, and the He-
of Medicine, the reader is told brew Medical • Journal (Harofe
that Dr. Harry Friedenwald was Haivri) published in New York
intrigued by a lecture his father attests to the points made by Dr.
delivered in 1896 on "Jewish Friedenwald.
Physicians and the Contribution
* * *
of the Jews to the Science of
This work does not limit itself
Medicine." Intrigued by this
to the historical and to the bio-
ture, he began to gather material graphical notes. It covers the
on Jews in medicine, rare manu- field of Jews in medicine in many
scripts and incunabula, and the countries. •
present two-volume work is the
The quoted references to medi-
result of his collection of essays cine in Hebrew lore read like
on the subject.
•
fiction. -
* * *
At the same time, the chapter
Graphically Described
on "Wit and Satire About the
Jewish physicians of all ages PhySician in Hebrew Literature"
figure in Dr. Friedenwald's work. provides real entertainment.
The contributions they have
Thus, Dr. Friedenwald has
made are graphically described, given the Jewish library and the
and the complete result is most medical profession a great con-
revealing.
tribution in his two-volume his-
The bibliography of ancient tory on Jews and medicine. Es-
Hebrew medicine, in the first pecially now, when there is in-
volume, should' serve as a guide creased interest in the advance-
to all who are interested in the . ment - of medical science, and
-subject.
when Jewish communities like
Reference is made in the bib- Detroit are thinking in terms of
liography to an important pamph-
building Jewish hospitals, this
let written in 1912 by Dr. Noah work represents a real gift to
E. Aronstam, one of Detroit's Jewish -
literature and to medicine
most 'distinguished doctors, on the in general. .
subject "Jewish Dietary Laws
From a Scientific Standpoint.'-'
* * *
Palestine Projects -
Ethical Practices
The value of Dr. Friedenwald's Can Absorb 10,000
.books lies in its complete cover-
age. Professional and lay men, Additional Families
Jews and non-Jews, will find en-
lightenment in . the chapter on
Some 10,000 additional JevVisli
ethical practices in medicine from families can be settled in the
the Jewish point of view. The agricultural settlements already
historical . background of Jews existing in Palestine, according
and Judaism in medical art to a report to the United Jewish
makes, fascinating reading in ad- Appeal by David Stern, head of
dition to being most instructive. the Colonization Department of
Similarly, those 'interested in the Jewish Agency for Palestine
civic-protective activities should who recently arrived_ in this
not miss the very valuable chap- country.
ter on "Apologetic Works of Jew-
Describing the expanding
ish. Physicians." It is an impres- frontiers of Jewish colonization
sive • essay and it should serve to made possible by t h e United
guide those interested in anti- Palestine Appeal agencies — the
defamation work along .paths of Palestine Foundation Fund and
Jewish traditional policies in the Jewish National Fund--Mr.
apologetics and defense.
Stern pointed out t h a t seven
* * *
settlements were established this
Women Mentioned
year prior to his departure from
. That women as well as men Palestine in April.
-
have always been active in medi- Counting four to a family,
. cine is another of the revelations some 40,000 additional . persons
to be found in Dr. 'Friedenwald's could obtain a livelihood from
great books. It is interesting the
existing farms and settle-
,
that he should - have labelled the ments in the , Jewish homeland
chapter dealing with this subject in Palestine. At present, about
"Jewish Doctoresses in the Mid- 140,000 Jews are . sustained by
die Ages," the agricultural settlements.
The first Jewess on record as Mr. Stern emphasized that the
a practicing physician Was Sara settlements of the United Pales-
de Saint Gilles, wko lived in the tine Appeal agencies had created
first part of the 14th century in the possibilities for the youth
Marseille. immigration into Palestine of
Dr: Friedenwald- also deals the past decade.
with the subject of Jews and uni-
versities . and, tells of the trials Fascist Beats. GOP
.and • difficulties of Jewish 'stud- Regular in .Chicage
ents.
CHICAGO (JPS) -Charles- J
He shows that. there . was a Anderson Jr., • whose mother
spirit of tolerance' in 16th century- treasurer of the native fascist We
Italy, and he writes an interesting' the Mothers Mobilize for Anieri.
chapter on medical degrees dur-, Ca, Inc., and who has deClared
Mg the middle ages.
that "we .trust Hitler's word just
It is natural, of course, that he as much as 'RooSevelt's or
should devote . .2 major portion Stalin's," has beaten the ma-
-of his :Work to a discussion of chine-backed. GOP candidate, in
the contributions of the great the Republican Congre s s i o n al
JeWish doctors in the period1 primaries and is now waging a
known as Arab ' Medicine. The Vociferous, hate - inciting cam-
°story Of- --MA5eS• lUimonides and

MARGIT C. KORMENDY

stars in the recent presentation
of "The Gypsy Baron," will be
presented in the Jewish Com-
munity Center's outdoor concert
on Monday evening.
Her accompanist, Miss Florence
Kutzen, who is associated with
the Netzorg School of Music, will
also play several solos.
Miss Kormendy received her
professional traini.ng in Budapest
and other European centers, in-
cluding three years' musical study
in Italy and France. She has ap-
peared with the Michigan Sym-
phony Orchestra, the Grinnell
Chorus and other groups and is
at present studying with Harriet
Ingersoll.
These concerts commence at
8:30 p. 'm. and are *free-, to the
public.

Sentimental Ballads
On 'Pause' Program

The tempo set by the season,
Percy Faith has selected a group
of lilting easy rhythms with
sentimental ballads -and roman-
tic love songs for the Sunday
afternoon "The Pause that Re-
freshes on the Air" program
over CBS at 4:30 (EWT). •
Eleanor Steber, -a soprano,
vocal - star of the -show, has
Chosen for her solo, "Touch of
Your Hand," from Jerome Kern's
"Roberta."
Felix Knight will be heard in
a - duet with Miss Steber. singing
"Someday."

.Page E!eveit

Medical Journal Dedicates Issue
To Tchernichovsky on Anniversary

Harofe Hatvri . (Hebrew _Medi-
cal Journal), which has appeared
for 17 years under the editor-
ship Of Dr. Moses Einhorn of
New York City, celebrates its
birthday with an issue dedicated
to Saul Tchernichovsky.
In the introductory article,
Dr. Einhorn reviews the remark-
able development of the journal
during its 17- years of existence,
appearing, at first intermittently,
but since 1936 at regular inter-
vals as a well-established jour-
nal of recognized - value to He-
braists and • followers of medical
science.
Dr. Bernard Weiss, in his bi-
ographical article on the poet,
describes the early life of Tcher-
nichovsky in Russia.
Outstanding Contributor
The outstanding contributor to
this issue is Zalman Shneour,
now the surviving member of
the great trio of cqntemporary
Hebrew literature — B i a 1 i k,
Tchernichovsky and Shneour. In
his article, Shneour credits his
colleague with freeing Hebrew
poetry from its ancient -shackles,
introducing the idyl and sound-
ing a new and joyous note • in
Hebrew literature. Shneour sur-
veys - three aspects of the poet's
many-sided creativity—his trans-
latiOns, his prose writings and
his idyls.
T h e distinguished • educator,
Prof. Nisson Tournoff, in dis-
cussing the poetry and prose of
Tchernichovsky 1 i k e wise ac-
claims him as the pioneer of
the modern idyl in Hebrew
poetry, giving him -assurance of
a place among the greatest of
our poets.
Interesting Comments
Abraham Regelson, the Amer-
ican Hebrew poet, contributes
highly interesting comments on
the epics of Homer, their style:
meter • and contents in relation
to the problems that confronted
Tchernichovsky in his work of
translation which 'opened up for
the Hebrew reader the vistas of
the Homeric world.
Modern Hebrew's great debt
to Tchernichovsky is discussed
by Dr. Leon Golden.
Dr. Hyman Morrison draws a
parallel of the work and careers
of Tchernichovsky and Halevi,
both of them physicians, poets,
lovers of Zion, masters of many
cultures and deeply imbued with

the spirit of God as it is mani-
fest in nature. '
Abraham Joseph Stybel, well-
known Macaenas of Hebrew lit-
erature, records some remini-
scences of Tchernichovsky which
throw light on his personality,
his charm, s i m p 1 i,c i t y and
-straightforwardness.
Poems Published
The young American Hebrew
poet, Gabriel Preil, pays his
tribute in moving verse. Poems
of Tchernichovsky also are pub-
lished—two in translation by
Maurice Samuel, one written in
brave but tragic mood (Baruch
of Mayence), another in high
and cheerful mood in which the
poet proclaims his creed.
Daniel Persky, well-known
Hebrew writer, presents an- in-
teresting article on the rhythm
and style of Tchernichovsky's
poetry. Chaim Leaf analyzes in
detail the last poem of the great
poet written two months before
his death, entitled "The Distal
Celestial Stars." A valuable
bibliography is furnished by. A.
R.. Malachi.
ThOse who desire further in-
formation or -wish to subscribe,
should communicate • with The
Hebrew Medical Journal, 983
Park Ave., New York 28, N. Y.

Warn Against "Diasone"
As Tuberculosis Cure

The warning that the new drug
"diasone" is not a cure for tuber-
culosis and • can fatally injure
human beings,. recently issued by
Dr. H. J. Carper, Research Di-
rector, and Dr. Maurice L. Cohn,
Research Chemist, of the National
Jewish Hospital at Denver, marks
another milestone in this institu-
tion's long history of contribu-
tions to the nation's health and
welfare.
When diasone was first herald-
ed as a cure for tuberculosis, Dr.
Corper immediately began a long
series of experiments to deter-
mine the validity of the claims
made for this sulfa drug. It was
being used on patients in some
sanatoria and many tuberculosis
sufferers were clamoring for this
"sure cure."

E THE

sr

irritated ysioz. well with
Mexsana, the soothing,
medicated powder. Cools

burn as it soothes•itching.

111111•111111131MMOMMIPM1111111• ■■ •••=r

F EDSON'S

GM Program Features
Harpist and Flutist

Carmine Coppola, flutist, and
Edward Vito, harpist, i will be
soloists for the performance of
Mozart's Concerto for Flute,
Harp and Orchestra in C Major,
the featured work to be con-
ducted by Dr. Frank Black on
the General Motors Symphony
of the Air program Sunday, July
16 (NBC, 5 to .6 p.m., EWT).

REFUGEES REACH U. S.
PHILADELPHIA- (JPS)—Sev-
enty-five Jewish refugees - from
Palestine, Egypt, Iran, and
Spain, many of whom had been
in Nazi concentration camps, ar-
rived here aboard the Portu-
guese liner Nyassa.

KOSHER
Restaurant and Dining Room

UNEXCELLED FOOD

Private Dining Room foe Parties

NOrthlawn 9786

12017 DEXTER BLVD.

Detroit's Only Natural MINERAL BATHS

WAYNE BATHS

Foot of Second
Turkish Mineral and Reducing Baths

RA. 6744

Separate Departments

Open Da:
or Night

For Men and Women

She Always Wants
The Best for Her Family .. .

So she comes to a druggist she knows is, fully
prepared, to help her at times of illness. He
has always - given her the most careful service
in filling her prescriptions perfectly. She knows
-she can depend on

C u m i n

ACP AV II .17 7012 E

